Sources & methodology
Browse the evidence and calculation notes behind STAT’s campaign to protect access to pediatric speech therapy.
How to read the evidence
Official CMS documents establish the proposal, comment period, conversion factors, and policy mechanics. Research entries support prevalence, treatment, outcomes, and economic context. News entries attribute specific stories and are not presented as national evidence.
STAT’s displayed payment amounts, percentage difference, wait-time range, and potential access effects also draw on a client-provided policy brief. Those figures are campaign analysis, not CMS estimates or a national wait-time study.
Last updated .
CMS policy documents
Official rule materials and professional analyses of the proposed pediatric speech-language pathology code and payment changes.
- CY 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule (CMS-1848-P) — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, July 2026
- Calendar Year 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule fact sheet — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, July 14, 2026
- Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2027 payment policies under the Physician Fee Schedule — Federal Register, July 16, 2026
- 2027 Medicare Part B proposed rule: coding, payment, and policy analysis — American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, August 1, 2026
- CMS proposes Medicare payment for new speech-language pathology treatment codes — American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, August 18, 2026
Reimbursement figures
Sources and calculation notes behind the displayed payment amounts, payer context, wait-time context, and campaign risk analysis.
- Provider payment under Medicaid fee for service — Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
- STAT campaign analysis and calculation notes — Speech Therapy Action Taskforce, August 2026
- The waitlist problem: why people are waiting months to start speech therapy — Great Speech
Research studies
Government statistics, systematic reviews, longitudinal studies, and economic research referenced in the campaign.
- Quick statistics about voice, speech, language — National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Supply and demand resources for speech-language pathologists — American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2026
- Prescribing physical, occupational, and speech therapy services for children with disabilities — American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019
- Speech and language therapy interventions for children with primary speech and language delay or disorder — Campbell Systematic Reviews, 2005
- A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of intervention in children with primary speech and language delays/disorders — Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2021
- Developmental language disorder — National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Education and employment outcomes of young adults with a history of developmental language disorder — International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 2018
- Young adults with developmental language disorder: a systematic review of education, employment, and independent living outcomes — Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2020
- Community-based early intervention services to promote school readiness: longitudinal follow-up of program costs and benefits — The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 2025
- Effectiveness, costing and cost effectiveness of interventions for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs — U.K. Department for Education, 2012
- UK economy would benefit by £8 billion from earlier investment in children's speech and language support — Speech and Language UK
News and article attribution
Reporting and institutional articles credited on the Who It Helps page and in campaign access examples.
- Changes to Iowa Medicaid could limit child speech therapy services — KCRG, December 18, 2025
- North Carolina pediatric therapists describe the impact of Medicaid cuts — Spectrum News, December 4, 2025
- Georgia therapy clinic closing after a 20% reimbursement cut — Atlanta News First, May 28, 2026
- Lawmakers question Medicaid access as children's therapists face rate cuts — Capitol Beat, July 2026
- Cuts with consequences — New America, 2025
- Budget shortfall reduces services for Colorado children with developmental delays — CPR News, February 27, 2025
- Groundbreaking speech therapy research helps child master the 'r' sound in weeks — Montclair State University, December 16, 2025
- Novel intervention gives hope to children at risk for speech and language disorders — Arizona State University News, August 14, 2025